Press Releases

Otterbein Theatre & Dance presents “The Launch: A Senior Cabaret”

November 20, 2017
Otterbein University

Westerville, OH—Otterbein University Theatre & Dance will present “The Launch: A Senior Cabaret” at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3 in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove Street. Tickets cost $30 and tax-deductible contributions will also be accepted. Call 614-823-1109 or www.otterbein.edu/drama. The box office is open 12-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances. The box office is located in Cowan Hall, 30 S Grove St., Westerville.

Thom Christopher Warren, the newest addition to the Theatre & Dance faculty, came to Otterbein after spending 15 years with the Broadway and National Tours of Disney’s “The Lion King,” for which he played Scar, Zazu, Timon, Pumbaa, and Ed. Thom’s tenure with the show also included serving as the resident director of the second national tour, as well as serving on the creative team of the Chinese production in Shanghai.

Audiences can expect to hear some familiar Disney melodies in Thom’s performance at “The Launch,” among other musical theatre favorites.

Lori Kay Harvey, Otterbein resident music director since 2007, also has an extensive performance resume. Her credits include the International Tour of “Grease” (Brazil); regional productions of “Beauty and the Beast” (Ordway Center) and “Jekyll and Hyde” (Arvada Center); and television appearances on “Sex in the City” and “Guiding Light.”

Warren and Harvey first performed with each other on the National Tour of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

The 14 members of the BFA Acting and Musical Theatre class will perform selections from class and production work completed during their time at Otterbein, including material from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “A Grand Night for Singing,” “Damn Yankees,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “The Addams Family.”

The cabaret will mark the last time the seniors will perform on the Otterbein stage before moving to New York for spring semester internships. Proceeds from the event will benefit the New York Senior Showcase, where the students will audition for more than 100 casting directors and talent agents in a shared event with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Drama Department.